With Her Vengeance
by BlackWidowPretty
Summary: There is another path to the flames. A three-shot of rape, rage, and retribution. M! VERY adult themes. Don't like, don't read. Don't waste my, & your, time with flames. Holly/Root. Not really a shipping...
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, dahlings. This is chapter one of a three-shot that has very graphic themes, including rape, child molestation, alcohol, and suicide. It's not for the faint of heart. And don't preach to me about OOCness, because I already got that. WAY OOC. And you HAVE been warned about the graphic nature of this fic, so uh, don't FLAME. I don't like it when the pre-warned people flame, even on other people's fics. It's pretty ridiculous, and really unfair. Besides, this is FANfiction, I can mold the characters to my twisted will, as long as I give credit to Eoin Colfer. Which I ... haven't done..**

**DISCLAIMER: All recognizable characters belong to the walking brilliance with the Irish accent and giant eyebrows.**

**There. I will warn you once more, this story is not for people with weak stomachs for this kind of thing. Go back now, if you ever wish to keep your sanity.**

**Ah, who am I kidding.**

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**WITH HER VENGEANCE- A New Path to Hell.**

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She should have seen it coming.

The signs were clear enough. Like the weather before a tornado, he had morphed. The slightly more lusting glint in his eyes. The difference between his half-proud look and his seductive leer became blurry and indistinguishable. She should have seen it. But even if she had, she wouldn't have believed it.

And the saddest part?

No one else would have.

Her inadvertent descent into his clutches could not have been stopped, even if someone had noticed. Grief, misery, so much pain… But upon whom should, _could_ the blame be set?

Almost all, even you, would say that it was his fault.

After all, it had been just an innocent, simple intercom request to his office. Nothing unusual about that. Every step toward his office door made the future more and more certain. Is that to say no one could have stopped it? Perhaps. But the assumption that, even with prior knowledge of it, someone would have had the courage to stop their commanding officer is, sadly, highly unlikely. Her fate was already certain. They couldn't help that.

So what is to blame?

Fate, really. The unfortunate chain reaction.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

As she stood outside his office, waiting for him to buzz her in, Holly smoothed the creases off her uniform with coffee-colored hands. An unconscious, habitual thing. If she didn't do it now, Root would preach to her about it for ten minutes. And, worse, rumors and gossip slithered around about his wife's leaving. Holly didn't feel particularly involved in those rumors, and didn't really care, to be hones. Her commander's personal life was exactly as it suggested: personal.

But she did feel half-obligated to keep Root's mood mild by trying her best to make him happy, as far as work performance. Holly straightened the acorns on her green suit lapel. How was she to know that he wanted more?

A gentle hiss sounded as Commander Root's doors slid open. If Holly had made the smallest hesitation before entering, she would have detected the smell of alcohol. When she was inside, she immediately smelled it, but it was too late. His doors slid back shut, the automatic lock activating. Holly felt goose bumps erupt on the back of her neck. A twitching paranoia spread down her body, and her arms stiffened against her sides in a tense protectiveness.

Julius Root sat at his Commander desk, swallowed in the depressing light of his office. As Holly walked towards him, she heard low, desperate-toned murmuring. She heard his ragged, sharp breathing and felt a small stab of fear.

"Commander?"

Her voice pried into the heavy air and Root's muttering quieted. He looked up at Holly with red-rimmed eyes. She was startled at his rough appearance. His skin seemed stretched back onto his cheekbones, pale and sharp. His graying hair was wild and unkempt around his face, which was caught in a desperate, angry expression. He caught her eye and his gaze shone with grief, hurt, and need.

Holly swallowed the growing creepiness she was feeling. "Sir? Are you all right?"

Root didn't answer, but instead drank deeply from a bottle. Holly could guess accurately what was sliding down his throat. Needless to say, Holly really wished she wasn't in presence.

Root wordlessly stood from his chair, still looking at Holly, something new in his eyes. Something that further spooked Holly. But her eyes were captured with his, like a deer in headlights. She found herself backing away as he stepped toward her.

He took another drink and dropped the now empty bottle on the floor, the glass clunking and rolling away. Holly looked into her commander's eyes. When he spoke, his voice was heavy with hurt and desperation.

"I loved her." His words came out on a shaky whisper and Holly backed even further away from his gaze. She watched his eyes travel down her body and felt a cross between angry and violated. But something in her mind didn't accept that this could be real. He stepped even closer to her, and she could smell the evil on his breath. A burning lust filled the eyes of her Commander and his breathing became more sharp and rough, as if he were struggling not to sob aloud.

"I loved her. She was so beautiful." More fear rushed through Holly as she realized that they weren't rumors after all. And that she had backed up to Root's office's locked doors.

Root caught her eyes again and Holly shivered at the intensity in them. If it had been anyone else, they would have been on the floor moaning in pain. But in the state Julius was in, he could easily overpower Holly. He was a good two hundred pound heavier than her, and drunk.

"Beautiful," he breathed again, ever closer to Holly. Inches away. Holly flinched as Root dipped his head down and sniffed deeply through his nose, right next to her shoulder. Holly tensed against the doors. Root looked back up at her. "Like you."

Holly started to tremble, scared at the sound of the lust in his voice, thoroughly spooked. She swallowed, released a shaky breath she didn't realize she had been holding. A small, seductive smile twitched smile twitched on Julius's face.

"So beautiful. Just like you," he whispered, her breath brushing Holly's face. He now had one hand beside her head on the door. The other was gently stroking her jaw line. Holly was afraid to speak, but shivered at his touch, and not in a good way. The whiskey smell was strong on his breath and made Holly about gag.

Root gazed deeply into Holly's eyes, bringing his hand to the collar of her suit. Why couldn't she move? She seemed anchored to the floor, and couldn't make her vocal chords work. Julius pressed her against the wall as his fingers fumbled with the collar clasp around Holly's neck. She suddenly knew what his intentions were.

Just as she registered this, Root crushed her lips with his own in a rough, demanding kiss that seemed to suck the life force out of Holly. He forced her mouth open and slid his tongue between her teeth. Holly fought the urge to scream. It wasn't as if that would do any good anyway. She tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he had her in an iron grip. She felt as if she was about to vomit. The taste of alcohol was thick on his tongue. She fought harder to escape his grip.

Then, suddenly, Root broke his kiss and shoved Holly roughly against the wall with an angry grunt. Without hesitation, he drew his Neutrino from his holster and thrust it to Holly's chest. Her eyes widened and she sucked in a frightened breath.

"Stop it," he growled, his eyes burning with fury. "Stop." Holly gasped again and felt the gun's end dig into her chest. Root's gaze slid down her body again and he took a half step back, still pressing the gun to her.

"Take off your clothes," he rasped huskily.

An icy chill claimed the room at his order. Holly's mind was so numb with fear she couldn't think. If it had been anyone, _anyone_ else, this wouldn't be the case. Holly Short was a soldier known for her ability to make beneficial, rational decisions in the face of immense stress.

The tiniest bit of that ability made its sluggish way to Holly's vocal chord. "Wh - Why are y-you doing th-this?" she half-whimpered, half-shouted out of pure fear.

Root hesitated, as if he were about to answer. Holly felt his hold on the Neutrino relax and saw a bit of the fury drain from his eyes. For a moment, Holly's stomach unclenched and the tiniest glimmer of hope took seed in her soul.

Then she felt the pressure of the gun to her chest come back. Her hope shredded and fell in pieces.

"I said take off your clothes!" he barked, spraying Holly's face with spittle. Crushed. Shredded. Gone. Holly tried to control her frightened breathing but it grew faster with every shiver that shook her spine. And it seemed to fuel Roots cruel desire. He forced her lips into another hard kiss. She choked back a helpless whimper as he yanked roughly at her suit, tearing the material in his haste to claim her. Nothing could stop him now.

A fist of panic clenched Holly's heart as Root ripped the clothing from her trembling body. He slid his tongue along the side of her face and she choked a sob in her throat. He kept the gun pressed to her chest as he tossed her torn suit away and shed his own with unnatural speed. Holly whimpered openly now, hoping feebly that he would show the mercy she thought she knew he had. Then she made a fatal mistake. Root went in for another rough kiss and on pure instinct and fear, such as a dog that had been beaten, she bit down on his lip. Hard. Root grunted loudly in pain and pulled back. Rosy blood leaked out from his lip and he hissed angrily. She flinched in fear as he drew his hand back and struck her hard across the face. The stinging pain brought tears to her eyes. But she wouldn't let them fall. She couldn't. '_This is all just a test,_' she tried to tell herself. '_It isn't real. Just another test.'_

Holly told herself that as Root ran his hands over her bare body, dropping the Neutrino. _Not real._ _Can't be real._ He groaned loudly and she felt the bulge of his stiff manhood pressing mockingly to her thigh. _It isn't real. Not real._ He forced her to the floor. She tried to pretend that as she fell, the carpet would swallow her up and she could keep falling, further and further down. Away from him. _Couldn't be real. Can't be._ She repeated this to herself as he mounted her, driving himself into her. _Not real… Not real… Not real…_

But she knew that it was entirely real. His rhythmic grunting with every movement, the echo of her useless, desperate protests in her mind. She was too numb to fight. Too numb to think. Too scared to register the pain as he shattered her innocence. Too helpless to do anything about it. A single, salty tear leaked from Holly's eye and onto the floor. Broken.

Holly knew when he had finished with her, but didn't move for several moments, shivering and trembling facedown on the carpet. She made another, pathetic effort to convince herself that none of it had happened. She felt so unbearably weak and helpless. Objectified. Like a victim of some perverted game. That elf who had just taken her as if she were his own: she didn't know him. He was no longer the commander that had encouraged her to be the best she could be. No longer the elf she had thought to be like the father she never had. No longer the Julius Root she could recognize. No. This was a monster, filled with cruel lust and desire to crush gossamer trust. A foul beast. What he had just done…

Holly gagged, feeling her stomach rise into her throat. Too much. She pushed herself shakily to all fours. Then her shoulders bucked and she vomited on the carpet.

Something transformed in her then. She felt the icy fear in her heart morph into a fiery rage. She opened her eyes, and the hazel circles burned with hatred. '_Never again.'_

Holly felt something soft fall on her bare body. She gritted her teeth, knowing what it was. She turned to see her suit, no longer ripped, smart-repair patches sealing up the slits. Holly felt another unbearable surge of anger. Sure. No evidence. No one suspects anything that way. Root was already dressed again, acting as if nothing had happened. Did he not see her? Did he not understand the pain he would cause her for nights on end? Of course he could. But he could also ignore it. It was easy for him to do. After all, the power was within his grasp, in the endless bottles he stored in his desk.

Holly watched with burning eyes as the elf that called himself Commander sat down. He didn't meet her glare. Perhaps he knew what he would see if he did. _'Can you see me?!'_ Holly wanted to scream. _'Do you see what you've become?!'_ The anger and fury struggled to burst out of her chest. She was trembling with rage as she pulled her suit back on. And still he sat there. As if she didn't exist. As if she was nothing but a speck of dirt under his boot. _'Is that all I am now?'_ she asked herself._ 'To him, is that all I'm worth? '_

_'No.'_ The iron spirit that made Holly who she was surfaced. _'That's all he is now. Only a piece of filth that stains this world. No better than the worst human.'_

She stood, clothed again. She heard the small swish of Root's automatic doors as they opened, freeing her from the hell that she would never forget. Still he couldn't meet her eye. She turned from him, from his evil, from the smell, and stepped out of his office.

Holly didn't stop walking, glaring straight ahead of her, until she reached Police Plaza's double doors. She paused there, staring at the light reflection of her face. The blood from Root's lip stained the corner of her mouth. She gritted her teeth, trying to halt the wall of growing anger she felt, and wiped the blood off with her suit sleeve. Nothing in her mind would form into coherent thoughts. All she felt was fury. Hatred. Disgust. The LEP Captain pushed the doors open and stepped out onto Haven's busy streets.

A sudden burst of grief forced its way out of Holly, via her vocal chords. She dropped to the sidewalk in the middle of Haven's bustle and let out a mighty shriek. Tears streamed from her eyes and fell sparkling onto the sidewalk, leaving fluorescent streaks on her face. Her heart pounded in her ears and her fingernails dug into her palms, causing blue sparks to dance around her hands. She felt as if her soul was on fire. Burning her, from the inside out.

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**Told ya. You were warned. But don't worry, the next chapter's .... *smile***


	2. Chapter 2

***laces fingers together under chin, leans back against chair***

**Welcome back.**

**WARNINGS!!!!!!!!!!!! : CHILD FREAKING MOLESTATION!!!! RAPE!!!! **

**YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!!**

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He had only had the courage to look up as she had left his office. Her shoulders were tense, her fists clenched at her sides. She walked with long, focused strides, instead of the usual confidence and bounce she had in her step. Then his office doors closed with a swish and he saw no more.

Root fumbled through the drawers in his oak desk, searching for more of his liquid numbness. He poured himself a drink, trying to feel nothing, trying to think nothing. What had he become?

As always, he blamed it entirely on his wife. _'She said to stop. She said it hurt. Filthy lying bitch. She knew it was what she wanted.'_ A burst of anger caused Root to throw his glass at the far wall with all of his might. It shattered against the wall, showering the floor with glistening pieces. The drink left gleaming streaks on the dark green wall, like the trails of dozens of tears. Root breathed heavily, each breath shuddering with anger. He looked at his hands, loathing with every molecule of his being the deeds they had done.

Root was thrown into the past, seeing memories that he had tried so hard to forget.

~_"Honey, knock it off. I said not right now."_

_She squirms against him, trying to push him off. She thinks it's just a game. He couldn't really hurt her._

_"Julius, quit it."_

_His lips are pressing hard at her neck, and he trails his hands across her body. He thinks she likes it. That's why she fights. She tries again to push him away._

_"Stop, Julius."_

_His hands are now working forcibly at her clothing, trying to pull her shirt over her head as she struggles. _

_"Julius, stop it!"_

_Her voice is layered with anger. But still he doesn't stop. He knows she likes it. Knows she wants more. So he will never stop. Until they are both satisfied._

_"I don't want to stop," he breathes into her ear, then captures it in his teeth. His breath smells of whiskey, and stings her eyes when he breathes. She is scared now, and starts to struggle harder. He rips her clothing off now, not caring if it leaves welts on her skin. She cries out in pain, but he just forces his lips on hers as he sheds his own clothes._

_"Ow. Damn it, Julius, stop! It hurts!"_

_"Liar. Quit fighting." _

_He forces himself on top of her. _

_"I said, stop!"_

_She stops struggling a moment, and he meets her eyes. Tears sparkle in the deep green pools. Panic laces her face. She murmurs pleadingly. But he just goes down to kiss her again. So she bites down on his lip as hard as she can._

_He exclaims in pain and slaps her with enough force to snap her head to the side. She turns back to him, sobbing loudly. He feels his heart give a mighty lurch. But he still doesn't stop. He forces her legs open, and she lays there like a rag doll as he works himself on her. Her many tears rush down her temples and to her hair line. She doesn't know this man. She thought him to be her husband. But this was just some beast. First thing in the morning, she decided. I will leave. I don't care how much he says he loves me. I can't stay here any longer.~_

And she did leave. The very next morning. He pleaded with her, tried to make her stay. But she just walked through the door with not one look behind her.

Tears dripped from Julius's face and unto the top of his desk. He loved her still. He had never meant to hurt her. And Holly…

Julius sobbed aloud, clenching his fists. He again tried to shift the blame from him. '_Stupid, stupid women. Don't know pleasure when they see it.' _But another memory forces its way into Root's mind, consuming him.

~_Little elf fingers push the Mud Man train along the toy tracks. The train gives out a comical "TOOT TOOT! All aboard!" as it passes by the miniature train station. Toy humans slide along on their robotic legs and board the train with various sayings, such as, "Fine day for a train ride!" and "Nice to see you again!" The little elf smiles, mimicking the train sounds as he pushes it further along the tracks._

_Daddy wasn't home, so the little elf could play with his train set as long as he wanted. But when Daddy got back, he had to go upstairs while Daddy stayed down to play games with Mommy. Little Julius often wondered when Daddy would let him play. He heard how much fun they had. Mommy would scream and Daddy would shout. The games would start as soon as Daddy got home. And little Julius would be sent to bed._

_When these games had first started, it was when Daddy got his new job. He told Julius that the games were to make him happy, so nothing would anger him at work. Julius remembered how his Daddy smelled every day. A smell that made his nose sting. He would often smell that same smell walking home from school with his best friend, Briar. It would come from the bar on the corner of his street. But surely Daddy didn't go there. That place was for bad fairies. Daddy didn't go there. Briar said that his daddy never went there, except when he was sad. Briar's mommy had passed away last spring, and his daddy had spent an hour at the bar, but never more._

_Little Julius pushes the train through the mountain tunnel, smiling with content. He remembers asking his daddy when he could play the games with him and Mommy._

_Daddy gave him a scornful look that scared Julius. "Never." The anger in his voice was clear. "The games are only for me and Mommy." _

"_But I'm good at games," he had protested. "I wanna play." _

"_No! Now go to your room."_

_Little Julius frowns in remembrance of that night. Daddy's not fair, he reasoned. I want to play too._

_The toy train toots and Julius smiles again. 'Well,' he thinks. 'I have toys and Daddy doesn't. So there.'_

_But Mommy never looks like she likes the games, Julius wonders. He doesn't have time to think about this, because he hears the click of the lock on their door. He starts to pack up the train station as Daddy walks in, setting his bag and coat down on the floor. He gives Daddy a quick hug before heading up the stairs with his toys. Daddy will have to wait to play tonight, Julius thinks. Mommy went out for a while._

_Little Julius gets to his room and shuts his door. He knows how loud Daddy and Mommy can be when they play. He is just about to crawl into bed for the night, when he hears a shout and a crash. He becomes frightened, but tiptoes over to his door, listening with his little elf ears. Daddy is yelling. But at who? Mommy isn't home. Another crash echoes through the house. Julius breathes faster listening to Daddy's shouts. He feels his heart thump as Daddy calls his name._

_He doesn't want to go downstairs. Daddy sounds mad. He steps quickly back over to his bed, hoping Daddy doesn't come upstairs. But he did. With every one of his daddy's footfalls, little Julius slinks further down into his bed, wishing that his blankets were a magic carpet that could take him away until Daddy wasn't mad anymore. Then they could play with the toy train together. Daddy could laugh his hearty laugh, and smile at Julius with that look that said, 'I love you, son.' _

_Julius hears his daddy come near the door. He's shaking now, afraid. He had never disobeyed Daddy. Never. What would he do? The little elf feared horrible punishment. What if he took the train set away? _

_Daddy bursts through the door and strides over to Julius's bedside with angry steps. He holds a note in his hand. "What is this?!" he shrieks, spraying young Julius with spittle. "What the hell is this?!"_

_The little elf trembles with fear at the anger in his daddy's eyes. He looks at the note, but he can't read it. He is only four. Julius swallows, his own eyes shining with innocence. "I don't know, Daddy. Mommy wrote it. She went to the store for a while."_

_His daddy crumples the note and throws it with a grunt of rage. He grabs his son by the shoulders and shakes violently. "What did she say to you? Did she say anything? What did she say?!"_

_Little Julius starts to cry, scared. "She didn't say anything! Daddy, you're scaring me."_

"_Am I?" He pulls Julius closer until his breath stings the little elf's eyes. "You don't know fear, you miserable piece of filth. You made her leave. It's YOUR fault!" He shoves Julius against the wall._

_The back of his head hurts, but Julius pleads with his father. "Daddy, please. Don't be angry. We can play a game!" The elf's mind wanders to his toy train set, and the fun he could have with Daddy. But he has a different game in mind._

"_You wanna play a game?" Something in Daddy's voice doesn't sound right. His eyes still burn with hatred. "You wanna make Daddy not be mad?" Daddy unzips his pants, and Julius's eyes widen. _

"_Make me happy, Julius. Play the game!" Daddy tells young Julius what he can do. _

"_Daddy… I can't do that…"_

"_Why not, Big J?" Big J. Julius's nickname. Sounds so wrong with his father now. "You wanted to play the game. Now play the game!"_

_The young elf gasps at Daddy's words, tears streaming down his face. This game isn't fun. Not fun at all. "Please, Daddy. Play a different game."_

"_No. I like this one. Now play."_

_Julius tries to protest again, but Daddy hits him on the side of the face. "DO IT!" he screams. So Julius did. He wants to puke. It's so horrible. But Daddy seemed to not be so angry. _

"_That's a good boy," he murmurs. "Make Daddy happy."_

'_You're not my daddy,' he wants to say. But he can't. And won't. Daddy entwines his fingers in his son's hair and moves the little elf's head back and forth. Julius fights the urge to vomit. Daddy wouldn't like that. Especially not now. So the young elf endures it. He would never for give Daddy. Never. He would run away. Tell the LEP. His heroes. _

_Then his father moves back from Julius, zipping his pants again. "We'll play again tomorrow, how about that?" he says with a smile. Little Julius doesn't answer. He tucks himself under the covers and turns away from Daddy, tears glistening on his face.~ _

'_She left me alone with that monster,'_ Julius thought bitterly, returning back to the present. He breathed heavily, each lungful of air hissing out between his teeth. With one angry thrust, he jerked open a drawer in his desk. He searched the wood with shaking hands until he found a small piece of paper, crumpled with age, folded and unfolded to the point of tissue-paper fragileness. It took him a while to read the words, his vision distorted with angry tears.

The Game is up.

Signed,

The Player Who Couldn't Win.

A new surge of anger overtook Root and he fell to his knees, howling at the ceiling in rage. _'Of course it's her fault. The bitch left me alone with…him.'_ He pounded the floor desperately, as if the rug could solve his life. As if it would cure everything.

'_A cure.'_ Root, his gaze level with the top of his desk, looked directly into the bottle of whiskey on the surface. It seemed to glow, even in the dim lighting of his office. It captured all of the available light and cast it back with a powerful brilliance, making the bottle look as if it were on fire. Julius started to reach for it, knowing it would numb his pain to the point of unconsciousness. Then he stopped, as the painful events of the day crashed into his mind. The force of it sent him rocking back on his knees, away from his desk and the curing powers on it. The drink he had cherished to numb his pain and force away his memories also turned him into the person he hated. The person that Holly would forever loathe, forever feel such pain whenever she looked at his face. Her dreams would be stained with the evil that he and his drink had forced into her life.

Root felt his soul rip apart in his chest. He had taken something from her that she could never get back. An innocence that was irreplaceable. A gossamer gift that she could have shared with the one she loved. He had taken it away. And she could never get it back. '_I'm a monster,'_ he thought, tears dripping onto the floor like liquid diamonds. _'A fucking monster. Just like him.'_

There had to be a different cure to such misery. Julius drew his eyes from the desk and to the floor. There. Underneath the oak desk was his gun. The one he had thrown aside in his haste to take Holly as his own. He fought down the stream of bile that rose at that thought, and grasped the handle of the gun with shaking hands. _'One shot,'_ he thought. _'One shot and it could all be over…'_ He gazed at the gun almost lovingly, wrapping his index finger smoothly around the trigger.

For some strange reason, he longed for a human handgun. There was something slightly more satisfying about death when caused by a gray bullet rather than a green-yellow stream of morphed electricity. But still. He had no choice, did he?

But he did. He had a choice. He didn't have to go this way.

_'I should,'_ he thought bitterly. _'It's what I deserve._'

At the moment he had placed the gun underneath his jaw, the moment his finger tightened around the trigger, the door of his office slid open, and a new path to hell came in.

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**Continued whenever the crap I write the third part. **

**~BlackWidowPretty~**


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